One of my veteran Hardcore characters just fell in battle against Asra Nox and the Bone Dragon recently. I'd appreciate it if anyone has any tips or suggestions to offer, as I'm still not very sure where I went wrong. Equipment: Full Universalist's Set Dual Claw Gloves for anti-personnel (hitstun)/DPS on unmoving targets. Very very effective, though risky. Miniknog Launcher + Shield, for general anti-air. Previously Grenade Launcher for defensive fighting. Flamethrower for anti-swarming/anti-SPIKES, emergency illumination (unused during mission) Rocket Launcher for heavy anti-air (Dreadwing, Big Ape, etc) (unused due to horde, too risky) Tech: Wall Jump (Pulsejump+), Sprint (charge attacks with ClawGloves), Spike Sphere (obvious) 100+ Medical Kits and Nanowrap Bandages each (looting ho) Issues I've noticed: Even with final-tier melee armor, health and defense doesn't scale up very well. I'd been taking surprising amounts of damage from Fiery-tier wildlife upon contact, enough to force me to restrict melee combat to ONLY be used on hostile NPCs without "touch damage". Outlaws end up easier to deal with than single monsters. My early-game strategy of hurling Molotovs has come back to haunt me. I incurred tremendous amounts of damage during that final mission due to the cocktails the Occassus fliers were throwing. Miniknog Launcher and Lana helped tremendously with dealing with them, but the damage was done. Upon my death, the entire floor of the Keep was on fire. Even with my speed I had nowhere left to run, and attempting to drag the fight outside had me bogged down by the Cultists at the gate, before Nox felled me with a shell launched almost horizontally while I was still airborne. Thanks in advance.
I would suggest using a fully upgraded form of the Solus katana which seems to work for me, and when I need crowd control there is nothing better that duel wielding Aegisalt pistols, or if you rather get an orbide with either a healing three or damage three collar. Now your for your techs if you use melee combat get the blink dash tech which will allow you teleport around your enemies, and I use the sonic sphere for advanced mobility on planets and quick rolling under enemies. Hope I helped even a little.
